A local bar in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY just got caught red-wedding-handed for hosting weekly viewings of Game of Thrones and HBO is not happy about it. The bar, Videology, which is located on Bedford Ave (a super-hip part of town) often hosts viewings of movies, tv shows, shorts and more. It’s a great spot to grab a beer and participate in Twin Peaks bingo (from experience), but when it comes to adhering to HBO’s service agreement, the bar seemed to forget what that exactly meant.
The establishment is known for its weekly screenings of shows such as AMC’s Mad Men and Game of Thrones. But, piracy has been a main concern of HBO lately, especially after four episodes this season were leaked online. According to NY Daily News, the network asked the bar to comply e-mailing:
As a pay subscription service, HBO should not be made available in public establishments. When it does happen, it is of particular concern when there is an attempt to profit off the programming. We have taken such actions for well over a decade.
Wendy Chamberlain, co-owner of Videology said that the network was very polite and that her bar would comply, but she felt the establishment was singled out, claiming that she pays for HBO and showed all of last season without any problem. The establishment started as a video rental store in 2003, and only opened the bar and screening room in November 2012 (most likely due to the slow demise of video stores). Chamberlain said that each week the screening drew dozens of fans, many in costume, and the only time the customers were ever charged were for tickets for a party at last week’s premiere, which paid for food and beer.
Most patrons of the bar were disappointed at this cancellation because they enjoyed watching GoT in a communal environment. One even told the news organization that he himself has his own HBO subscription, but prefers watching it live, enjoying "the feeling of community" and "everybody laughing at the same places.”
HBO reached out to the bar hours before the second episode of Season 5 was about to air, so many patrons showed up an hour early to get good seats, only to learn the viewing would not commence. Chamberlain was mostly upset though because she didn’t see it coming.
Seeing that many other bars in the neighborhood and around the city were showing it, we made the assumption that HBO believed, as we do, that public screenings were in the best interest of both HBO and the fans, since GoT is enjoyed on a deeper level as a communal event. But in the end, it's not up to us.
While many of the attendees of the event spoke out as subscribing members of HBO’s service, there is no guarantee that all in attendance are on the same page. So, basically what it comes down to is, no HBO, no Game of Thrones.
